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Investment for Small Business Owners

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Investment
 
Running a small business in the current financial climate can be tough. There are a plethora of challenges to be faced on a daily basis. If you’re a small business owner that is tired of the financial uncertainty that can happen, and would like a little more security to help flatten out the lows, then starting to learn how to invest small amounts of your money to provide a different source of income could be the answer you’ve been looking for.

While investing can become a great safety net for your business, there are many considerations to ensure your success. It can be a great tool for building your wealth, but it’s a common misconception that it’s only for the wealthy.

What is investing?

Investing, in its most essential form, is the act of committing money in the hope you’ll make a financial gain or profit. A portfolio of investments built up over time can allow your money to work smarter, rather than you working harder.

Investing can also be a great way to take financial responsibility for your future. It often means committing an amount of money, we would have used for something else, such as purchasing new clothes or going to a fancy restaurant. Swapping the instant gratification of consumerism for an investment in your future requires discipline and an acknowledgment of your responsibility to your future self.

Investing can take many different forms. Most of us are aware of the stock market, but stocks are from the only way to invest. There are also mutual funds, commodities, Forex, bonds, ETFs, or real estate.

Any act that involves staking an amount of money for future returns is technically investing.

Technology and investing

Over recent decades, technology has made investing more accessible to everyone. This has helped to drive down fees. Many of the functions of a traditional trader can either be performed by investors themselves, or by using a subscription-based platform.

Now we can jump on the Internet to compare brokerage fees. We can look at online reviews and often play with a free sample of their software. This has empowered investors and investment advisors by providing a range of new tools that can perform real-time research and analysis, and even warn you when certain pre-set conditions are met.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Investment
 
Start small

When you first start out investing the sheer volume of information can be confusing. Everyone knows what’s best or has a foolproof strategy to sell you. The best way to get started is to jump in at the deep end but in a very small way. You can start trading penny stocks, or only invest a very small amount, just while you get a feel for how the system works.

This will allow you to experiment with no real meaningful consequences. You can familiarize yourself with how the different systems work, what information and resources help you, and discover your own preferences. There are numerous approaches out there, and this is partly because there is no one system that fits all. As you progress you will gradually define your own parameters and discover what levels of risk you’re happy with.

Only using money you can afford to lose will prevent you from taking needed money away from your business. While you want your investments to enhance your income, it’s important not to be carried away if you enjoy some success.

Learn as much as you can

While there is an overwhelming amount of information out there, being selective can reap rewards. Join respectable forums and ask for advice on the best reading material, discover the best commentators to follow and learn from, search for helpful free resources, such as e-books, videos, free commodity charting, industry and investment news resources etc.. The more you know, the better you are likely to do.

Some investments require much more in-depth knowledge to take advantage of, while others require much less maintenance. If you’re managing your own investments, then the time commitment required should be a serious consideration.

Know yourself

As well as understanding the levels of risk you are comfortable with, it can be good to formulate a longer-term plan of what you intend to do with your investments. What are your personal objectives and goals? The goals for your business? Are you simply trying to accumulate wealth for the sake of it, or are you trying to ensure your retirement is comfortable?

Understanding these different factors can also help you to better understand your risk tolerance, and help you select investments that mature within a suitable timeframe for you to achieve your goals.

Variety is the spice of life

Diversify your investments. Having all your eggs in one basket increases your exposure to risk if something goes wrong. By spreading your money around, whether it’s different commodities, companies, or types of investment, you’ll help to mitigate this risk and ensure you never suffer any catastrophic losses.

This will mean learning about different types of investment, but you don’t always need to understand every minutia of a system in order to invest in it.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Investment
 
Always maintain a cool head

It’s not wise to go into investing expecting to get rich very quickly. Try to keep emotion out of your trading, instead relying on proven techniques and hard data to drive your decisions. Markets will always fluctuate, and a knee-jerk reaction can sometimes be worse than taking no action.

Shop around for a good deal

Whether you are speaking to a broker over the phone or using an app, there are always fees and charges. Sometimes it’s a set fee; other times it’s a percentage of your profit. Shop around and compare the different deals available, not just for the cheapest, but for the one that offers the most value to you.

Align your investing with your personal beliefs

If you’re new to investing it can be hard to know where to invest. However, where investors put their money can make a powerful statement. If you believe in sustainability or protecting the environment, then search for investments where the company acts ethically and with responsibility.

Becoming Self Employed – Is It For You?

Becoming self employed is an attractive prospect for many people. It offers a degree of flexibility and you have no boss to answer to. Being self employed can also be lucrative, any profits made are yours once you have met ongoing costs. If taking the plunge to go self employed appears tempting, it is important to take a rain check and remember that there many downsides too.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Freelance
 
One of the main cons of being self employed is that being employed on a payroll actually offers a great deal of security. When you decide to become self employed you give up many of the benefits enjoyed by employees. Employment gives a worker lots of rights including, a contract, regular pay, sickness and holiday pay as well as some legal protection. Of course as a self employed person you can still access benefits, but it will be instigated and paid for by yourself. Thankfully there are lawyers who specialise in offering support to businesses in different sectors, for example a truck labor lawyer will represent truck drivers working on a piece rate basis.

So why do so many people choose to go self employed, when there is so much security and benefits to being an employee? Read on to discover why some business owners choose to make the switch.

Earning potential

Most people working on a freelance basis earn more than if they were self employed in the same role, in fact it is estimated at around 45%. You are able to put certain expenses through “the books” which further enhances earning power. As you are working for yourself you will be able to develop your business without constraints, you will be able to pitch for work at higher prices as your reputation grows and any profit will be yours.

You are your own boss

Being self employed means that you don’t have anyone monitoring your every move. You will need to meet the requirements of your clients, but how you get there is up to you! On the flip side however, you will need a high degree of motivation and a strong work ethic. Otherwise your business will not progress as much as you envisaged.

Flexibility

If you require time off to watch the kids nativity or go to the dentist, you won’t need to grovel to your boss. You won’t be constrained to the 9-5 routine, as you can choose your own hours. This is particularly useful if you wish to become a player on a global scale in the future, as you will be accessible 24 hours a day and not just when you are in the office.

Variety

Being self employed and running your own business is a constantly evolving role. You need to stay one step ahead of your competitors in order to survive in the marketplace. You will need to adapt manufacturing processes, services and product design to meet your target audience requirements. All of which offers variety to your role.

To conclude lots of research needs to be undertaken prior to becoming self employed, but if you’re sure that being self employed is for you and your personality will allow a high level of commitment, then take the plunge and enjoy the freedom!

Solutions to Effectively Reach Your Target Audience

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | Target AudienceReaching your target audience can often be a struggle. For a business just starting up, understanding how to best achieve this goal is vital in the early days. Start on the right foot and spend time, money, and resources focusing on appropriate ways to reach and appeal to your target audience. Below are a few handy suggestions for implementing the best strategy going forward.

Defining your target audience

Before you do anything else, you need to take time to work out who your target audience actually is. By identifying your target audience, you can begin to understand the niche that your consumer would fall into. With this knowledge, you can ensure your marketing activities will reach these people. Factors to research include:

  • Demographics – gender, age, profession, income
  • Psychographics – values, attitudes, likes/dislikes, how they think/purchase
  • Behavioral – the way they consume media and data. Is it offline/online? Any key sites or publications?

Once you have a strong understanding of the above you can begin to tailor your marketing, so you can directly connect your audience.

Reaching your target market

Now that you are familiar with the behavior and demographics of your target market, you can look into the best ways to reach them. For some, this will involve offline marketing techniques such as direct mail marketing, word of mouth, newspaper campaigns, and billboards. However, an overwhelming majority of marketing these days takes place online. Your digital marketing campaign needs to be top notch for audiences to discover you among the competition you’ll likely be facing.

Digitally reaching out to your audience

Email Newsletters

This technique may seem old hat to some, but email newsletters are still a simple, cost-effective way that you can directly reach out to your audience. You can deliver targeted messages efficiently and it won’t need a big team to implement. You can keep content simple and create instant impact with broad reach. Be aware of the GDPR regulations; but apart from this, the world is your oyster.

According to Econsultancy, ¾ of companies agree that email offers ‘excellent’ to ‘good’ ROI. Active email accounts are expected to hit 5.6 billion by 2019.

Hubspot

Facebook / Instagram ads

Social media marketing is the current trend that looks like it’s here to stay. With constant updates and content to capitalize on, such as Insta Stories and Facebook Live Video, it has never been easier to tap into audiences. Keep your social media pages current, looking out for opportunities to through hashtags, for example, and spend resources on fresh, visually appealing content that will get your target audience stop scrolling and pay attention to you.

Search engine marketing

Search engine marketing is paving the way for businesses to find their audiences. Having an intrinsic understanding of who your audience is can assist you in more ways than one. You will be able to identify not only what your target audience is searching for, but how they are searching. Through keyword research and analysis and Google Ads campaigns, for example, you can ensure your business is right where it needs to be for customers to find you. Get a team behind you and visit digitalmarkgroup.com. Outsourcing will provide you with the expert knowledge to take your campaign the extra mile.

Banner advertising

Banner advertising works by providing a visual ad that links to your website and is intended to generate traffic. This type of display advertising relies mainly on aesthetics. It promotes your services like a physical banner or poster, but is instead visible on another web page. You can use advertising guides and networks to assist you in creating the ads. Used effectively, this are a great way to share your services through sharp visuals that are designed to attract your target consumer.

How to Create a Front Office that Everyone will Love

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | OfficeThe reception of the office is one place that the management should never ignore. It should be a combination of form and function. The reception area must be able to create a positive first impression and make guests satisfied when they leave. How is this possible? Keep on reading the rest of this post as we briefly tackle some of the best ways to create the best front office.

Use a Digital Receptionist

These days, you no longer need to employ a human receptionist to be at the front desk. To cut down the costs, consider using a digital receptionist in the front office. This makes visitor registration more innovative, which can be completed through a tablet or a computer instead of manually logging in with a pen and a paper. The digital receptionist will also capture the photo and signature of the guests.

If you are looking for the best check in apps for business, take a look at Greetly and see how this digital receptionist can revolutionize the front office.

Choose the Right Furniture

When choosing furniture to be used in the front office, make sure that you go beyond the aesthetics. While it is undeniable that style is important, you should also emphasize ergonomics. Make sure that it will promote the highest level of comfort to the guests so that they won’t mind the time they have to spend waiting.

Offer a Branded Experience

In one article from Forbes, the author reiterates that brand identity is not enough. The business needs to offer a total brand experience. While this can be done in many ways, one of the best would be in the front office. From the moment a visitor steps in, the front office should already be reflective of the personality that the business would want to establish. A good way to do this is to choose colors and designs that are associated with the company.

Provide Refreshments

The management does not need to spend a fortune to provide refreshments in the front office. Water, coffee, and tea will be great to have. A jar of candies, chocolates, and cookies will also be good. This way, visitors will have something to fill their stomach while they wait. It does not need to be anything too heavy!

Create Reports

Front office management can be improved through analytics. If the office has a digital receptionist, it will have the data that can be analyzed to perform an analysis of visitor data. It can help in the identification of trends and areas for improvement. To add, there should also be a system in place to ask visitors for feedback when they leave. It will make it easier for the management to determine what can be done to be better.

Take note of the things that have been mentioned above to create a great front office, making sure that your guests will feel welcomed once they step in and will be highly satisfied with the experience when they leave.

Simple SEO Strategies for Growing Your Business

There is definitely no doubt about the fact that every business needs a thought-out SEO strategy, so the only question about it is whether you are willing to spend time or money on it? Speaking from personal experience, the latter option usually proves itself more beneficial than the first one, mostly due to the fact that not all of us are marketing gurus.

On the other hand, even if you are a marketing genius – and especially if you are, you already know that SEO can be quite time-consuming, which makes hiring someone to handle it for you all the more compelling!

However, whether you choose to take up SEO on yourself or you decide to a white label digital marketing agency to do it for you, you should still learn more about some of these simple SEO strategies that will help you grow your business!

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | SEO | Search Engine Optimization
 
That is why we prepared some tips regarding the whole process of search engine optimization, both what to and what not to do in order to grow your business!

Your vision of SEO

The first important thing regarding SEO is how you see it. What this means is that thinking of SEO as a tactic is a mistake most beginners tend to make, because the truth is quite different. SEO is actually more of a strategy that you have to plan out long before you take it up. So, it will take a lot more than just a few weeks to get your business to the top of Google.

Additionally, a lot of people tend to think that SEO is essentially a combination of titles and meta descriptions. Whatsmore, you have to understand that SEO “trends” tend to change from one year to another.

A few years back, search engine optimization was almost synonymous to keywords. Had you asked an SEO expert to give you some tips on the subject in 2014, they would have probably told you that your keyword density is something that will either make you or break you. However, as of 2018, this trend has changed.

Startups such as Yelp and Airbnb made sure to understand that these changes occur all the time, and to have a concrete strategy to drive their traffic through search and this is what brought their success about!

Now, lots of people tend to think that they can take up this task on their own. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to be an expert on the subject in order to create a good SEO strategy, but merely doing some reading and trying to implement what you read into the strategy just isn’t going to cut it.

Knowing what your audience wants is of extreme importance!

At the end of the day, your audience is the most important variable in this equation. This is why you have to get to know your target audience and walk a mile in their shoes. What is it that they need? How will your product/service help them further on? Is there something that your competition can offer them that you can’t?

As you already know, 71 percent of consumers tend to discover new products/services through a search engine, and this search influences about 75 percent of total purchases.

Now, although keywords are not as important as they used to be, they still play a part in the whole process that is SEO. You will still have to do a proper keyword research that will help you in creating valuable content that your audience will appreciate, and that will encourage them to become one of your consumers!

Focus on your links’ quality, not quantity!

A few years back, Google’s algorithm was quite favorable of sites with lots of links, and it wasn’t all that important whether those links were valid and actually useful, content-wise. However, times have changed! Links are still as important as the used to be, but the focus has shifted from their quantity to their quality. The only thing you can do now regarding your links is to look for those that will be engaging and valuable to your audience!

StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article | SEO | Search Engine Optimization
 
Other things that you have to focus on as well are – your website’s structure (get it as organized and informative as you can!), your social media platforms, and mobile users! All three are of extreme importance for growing your business and are something you cannot succeed without.

Using these simple strategies, you can take your business from being one of the countless startups to becoming a household name, you just have to play your cards right! However, if you would rather play it safe and hire a great digital marketing agency to do this (and more!) for you, visit White Light Digital Marketing for more information!